In my next few posts, I'll be walking you through how to build a profitable website that can be green as well as promote your green business, endeavor, networking group, or opportunity.
What we've found at my web development company is that many people who are thinking of creating a website realize that they first need to organize their own content, such as their products list or line item of services, their mission, vision, and values, their contact information, and their about page.
We've found that planning to create a website actually helps you plan out your own business model.
Recently, we've been utilizing Drupal as a content management system. There are five main reasons we recommend this tool:
1) There are hundreds of available, free modules that have been developed by the Drupal community for you to use
2) It is free and open source to download
3) There are many ways to make this web tools fit your particular needs, depending on what you are promoting or selling
4) The balance of power for your niche market will tip in your favor with a the search engine optimization inherent in Drupal (do a search for "successful woman" or "green business women" and you'll find my two community sites)
5) There is a learning curve, but once you pass it, you are able to do unlimited options on your site
Examples of ways to integrate Drupal functionality into your site include:
- Photo albums
- Calendar of Events with RSVP
- Announcements
- Member listings
- Trouble tickets
- Job board
- Private messaging
- Member-created groups around topical or industry areas
- Mapping through Google Maps, such as creating a map of available properties in an area, or creating a user map of local network members
- Blogs
- Forums/discussion boards
- "Friendslists"
- Facebook-style "wall" functionality
- User points for participation
- Comments, reviews, and star ratings
- E-commerce
and the list goes on.
If you are interested in some of the capacity of Drupal, I invite you to review my slideshow with some samples.
http://www.slideshare.net/monicadear/samples-of-drupal-functionality-sm
Consider what would be beneficial in developing a member community around your particular niche interest. For example, you could allow participation for free but users who want additional access to members-only items must pay an additional fee. Or, you may offer micropayments for access to some functionality: a user may have to purchase "credit" with you in order to participate in some section of the site.
The sky is the limit with this powerful tool.
Social Networking for Women in Business, 136 pages of tips on managing your social media.
Use discount code begreengirl to download the e-version for $5.99: all major credit cards accepted.
Monica S. Flores @monicadear is committed to educating, empowering, and connecting women in business. She is available for consulting on web development through 10K Webdesign. She believes in the triple bottom line of people, planet, and profits.